NASA heat map points to scorched "Super Earth" with vast magma pools

If 55 Cancri e is indeed a lava planet as the new study suggests, it will likely have dust streaming from its surface as radiation from the nearby star blows material away from the tortured body(Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Using data collected by
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, a team of astronomers have produced
the first ever heat map of an Earth-like exoplanet. The alien climate
map paints a grim picture of a world scorched by its close proximity
to its host star, with extreme temperature variations noted between
the star-facing and far side of the planet.

To describe 55 Cancri e as a "super-Earth"
could be considered somewhat misleading when used in conjunction with
our home planet, as the two bodies bear few reconciling traits. The
planet, which boasts a mass of around eight times that of Earth in a
body roughly twice the size, is incredibly inhospitable when compared
to the blue marble on which we reside.

55 Cancri e is tidally
locked much like our Moon, meaning that the exoplanet only ever
displays one face to its parent star. The so-called super-Earth is
also known to orbit very closely with its parent star, taking only 18
hours to complete a full cycle, resulting in hellish surface
temperatures.

The new study drew on
data collected by Spitzer over the course of 80 hours as it observed
distinct phases of 55 Cancri e as it passed in front of its parent
star. These phases when observed from Earth are very similar to the
phases of our Moon, and allowed the astronomers to build up a global
map of the unusual super-Earth detailing heat distribution and
temperature changes across its surface.

NASA inforgraphic displaying the brightness of 55 Cancri e as it progressed through the various phases captured by the Spitzer Space Telescope(Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Cambridge)

The map displayed a
surprising disparity in heat levels between the star-facing side of
the exoplanet, which experiences a blistering temperature of 4,400º F
(2,700 K), and the far side, which is believed to endure around 2,060º F
(1,400 K).

The study jars with
previous interpretations of data that had led some to believe that 55
Cancri e was something of a water world hosting a dense atmosphere
that generated powerful winds responsible for distributing heat.

Instead, the team
asserts that the large difference in temperature between the star-facing and far sides of the planet act as evidence for a lack of such a system. It
is possible that the star-facing side of 55 Cancri e is characterized
by vast lava flows and prevalent magma pools. On the far side, the
temperature drops harshly enough for the flows to solidify,
preventing heat from being distributed effectively.

The notion of lava
flows and pools of magma existing on the surface of 55 Cancri e are
strengthened by an observed shift in the location of the hottest
point on 55 Cancri e to a position directly beneath the parent star.

If 55 Cancri e is indeed a lava planet as the new study suggests, it will likely have dust streaming from its surface as radiation from the nearby star blows material away from the tortured body(Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

NASA inforgraphic displaying the brightness of 55 Cancri e as it progressed through the various phases captured by the Spitzer Space Telescope(Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Cambridge)